Some federal services are impacted by the government’s shutdown over the failure to approve a budget or short-term funding resolutions.

U.S. Postal Service operations are not affected by the shutdown. Mail delivery will continue, and post offices will remain open, according to U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-16th.

“The spending bill passed by House Republicans last month is a clean, responsible short-term solution — without strings attached — to keep the government's lights on and its doors open,” said Kelly.

He blamed Senate Democrats for the shutdown.

Kelly said Social Security and Medicare benefits will continue during the shutdown.

The Social Security Administration office on Woody Drive in Pullman Center Business Park is closed, according to a message on its voicemail. The recording directs callers to www.socialsecurity.gov to find out what services are available during shutdown.

The 18,025 low-income county residents receiving rental assistance through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Housing Choice Voucher Program will continue to receive assistance through October and part of November only unless the shutdown is resolved, said Ed Mauk, Butler County Housing and Redevelopment Authority executive director.

“If it drags on into future months it will have a major impact. We didn’t receive a commitment for full funding for November,” Mauk said. “At a certain point, the pain gets real.”

In the 30 years he has worked in public housing, Mauk said he’s never experienced a shutdown that last more than a few weeks, so he said he doesn’t know what will happen if the authority stops getting money for monthly rental assistance payments.

“We’ve never had a situation where we haven’t gotten the money, so I don’t know,” he said.

Mauk said he has tried contacting the Housing and Urban Development office, but hasn’t reached anyone.

A “major catastrophe” would result if housing authorities nationwide stop receiving rental assistance funds, Mauk said.

Home rehabilitation and ownership assistance programs and authority employees will not be impacted in the short term, he added.

The authority is paid fees for services it provides and properties it manages, and receives grant funding.

“Staff is paid by programs we operate that make revenue. We’re OK for now. We get administrative fees for operating different programs, and we have that for October. If we lose that, we’d have to cover it,” Mauk said. “We operate like a business: We have to perform services to get paid.”

Air travel and passport services will continue during the shutdown.

Air traffic controllers, Customs and Border Patrol officers, and Transportation Security Officers will remain on the job, but travel delays are possible, according to Kelly.

Funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is mandatory, but the ability to distribute benefits could be affected during an extended shutdown, Kelly said.

SNAP funds for October will be distributed, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, which distributes those benefits.

“The federal government has confirmed Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funds will be distributed for the month of October. The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services is awaiting further details from the federal government on how federal funding will be affected throughout the government shutdown, especially for the nearly two million Pennsylvanians who rely on SNAP,” according to the department.

SNAP benefits do not expire as long as the recipient's Electronic Benefit Card remains active, which means the household's EBT card must be used at least once every nine months. SNAP recipients can check their current EBT balance, make transaction inquiries and request card replacements from the department’s myCOMPASS PA mobile app.

The Women, Infants and Children program will continue to enroll families and provide services as long as funding is available. WIC families should continue to use their WIC benefits and attend their appointments, Kelly said. The Pennsylvania Department of Health administers WIC.

Military veterans can continue receiving medical care at U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers like VA Butler Healthcare in Butler Township, and VA benefits, such as compensation, pension, education, and housing benefits, will continue to be processed and delivered, but other VA services will not be available during the shutdown.

Burials will continue at VA national cemeteries, and applications for headstones, markers, and burial benefits processing will continue. The Board of Veterans’ Appeals will continue decisions on veterans’ cases. Suicide prevention programs, homelessness services, and caregiver support will also continue, according to the VA.

The VA’s primary call center (1-800-MyVA411) and the Veterans Crisis Line (Dial 988, Press 1) will remain open 24 hours a day. The VA Benefit Hotline (1-800-827-1000) will be available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.

The VA will cease providing transition program assistance and career counseling, VA benefits regional offices will be closed, no grounds maintenance or placement of permanent headstones will take place at VA cemeteries, applications for pre-need burial at VA cemeteries will not be processed and new Presidential Memorial Certificates will not be printed.

The call centers for the VA’s GI Bill (1-888-GIBILL-1) and the National Cemetery Applicant Assistance hotlines (1-800-697-6947) will be closed. Public affairs and outreach to veterans will cease, including social media, VetResources emails, and responses to press inquiries. The VA Central Office will not have outreach to state, county, tribal, municipal, faith-based, and community-based partners.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Service Center on Evans City Road in Connoquenessing Township, which houses the department’s Farm Service Agency office, Natural Resources Conservation Service field office and the Rural Development office, has been impacted. Calls to those offices were answered by voicemail.

The Farm Service Agency administers federal farm programs, including farm loans, conservation programs, and commodity safety nets for Butler County farmers and agricultural partners. The Butler office serves farmers in Butler, Beaver and Allegheny counties. The message on the Farm Service Agency office voicemail says the staff has had been furloughed due to a lapse in federal government funding.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service office provides conservation planning through technical assistance funding to develop plans to address resource concerns.

The Rural Development office serves Butler, Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Greene, Indiana and Washington counties. The office administers numerous programs including a housing assistance program for people with low to moderate income; broadband, distance learning and telemedicine programs; water and waste disposal programs; rural infrastructure and electricity programs; renewable energy and energy efficiency programs; and business assistance.

No one answers the phone at the Office of Personnel Management office at Iron Mountain In Boyers. A recorded message tells callers to call back later due to a “very high” call volume. The office processes benefits for retired federal workers.